Live4ever Media LLC (NYC / Leeds) are purveyors of new music, daily news, exclusive features and photo galleries on the world’s best Indie bands.
Live4ever also produces and promotes high quality live music events, and is enjoying a growing industry-wide reputation for both discovering and showcasing new bands.
Among the network of websites published are the acclaimed Live4ever and The Oasis Newsroom, the web’s most popular site reporting on the brothers Gallagher.
Live4ever was founded by 3-time Emmy Award winning cameraman and concert photographer, Paul Bachmann. Senior editor Dave Smith is based in Leeds, England and heads up Live4ever’s UK content, as well as overseeing all writing assignments for the site.
“I love Live4ever – It’s a great site and always bang on the button!”
Beady Eye have confirmed their appearance on 'Live on Letterman' on Wednesday, June 22 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. The private concert will be broadcast LIVE on CBS.com & on select CBS Radio stations throughout America.
Following the broadcast, Beady Eye will make their US television debut on 'The Late Show with David Letterman', airing at 11:35pm ET/PT, and the full set will be available on-demand on VEVO.com and the CBS online network
Orlando Bloom Took Inspiration From Gallagher Brothers For New Role
Orlando Bloom looked to the music scene in his native Britain for inspiration as he portrayed a cocky rocker in new movie Sympathy For Delicious - basing his character on Ian Brown and Liam and Noel Gallagher.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star plays group frontman The Stain in Mark Ruffalo's directorial debut, and he reveals the rock wildmen provided him with plenty of material to work with as he developed the role.
He tells WENN, "I was thinking of Ian Brown, lead singer for The Stone Roses and the Gallagher brothers from Oasis.
"A lot of the great British bands come from the North of England. Those guys particularly, the Gallagher brothers and Ian Brown, have got this real attitude, arrogance and confidence that they are the best band in the world and everyone needs to know that and I really thought that lent itself to The Stain."
Bloom admits he had no personal run-ins with rockers to draw from, but he'd love to experience that lifestyle in another lifetime.
He adds, "I never had a brush with a rock star but I'd like to come back as a rock star."
The actor debuted his movie band with a free concert in Los Angeles in February 2009, when he recorded a gig scene for the film with co-star and punk rocker Juliette Lewis.
Wolverhampton Civic Hall welcomed Beady Eye as they made their West Midland debut. The now defunct band Oasis, renamed Beady Eye and minus big brother Noel, opened with a wild 90 minutes of music.
Liam Gallagher, keeping with his unique swagger and his particular style of dress, opened with Four Letter Word, a perfect, in your face rock’n roll song, got the crowd up on their feet in just 4 minutes.
The sold out show, chanting “Liam” after every song, was followed with Gallagher coming back with “nice one” almost as much.
Millionaire was definitely a crowd pleaser but, For Anyone, a sensitive song, turned out to be the best of the evening. It showcased Gallagher’s voice as he actually sang, instead of rasping down the microphone.
Roller, sounding as if it just came off one of the old Oasis albums, still brought the crowd being showered with all the drinks and showing that some things just never change.
The band, looking very relaxed, and less predictable and regimented, broke out in swirling psychedelic solos on the guitar and upbeat rock’n roll piano sounds.
The next hit was Bring The Light and the songs just kept coming after that, and then finally, The Beat Goes On, an anthemia rendition.
Everyone had been waiting, expecting this to be one of the best bands of the year, and they proved not to disappoint the crowd. The future for Beady Eye appears to have a terrific future ahead of them.
Noel Gallagher is a guest Dj on 100.3 The Sound tonight (24th April), at 6pm US Pacific Time.
The show is called "My Turn" and is one of The Sound's most talked about on-air features where artists and personalities take over The Sound airwaves. It happens every Sunday evening at 6:00 PM, commercial free. This unique program allows these artists to pick their own music and be a real Los Angeles radio DJ.
Recent guests include Beck, Kevin Nealon, Gavin Rossdale, BB King, The Pretenders, Sasha Vujacic and Pau Gasol of The Los Angeles Lakers and many more!
The last time Liam Gallagher swaggered his way onto a Welsh stage was at the spacious surrounds of The Millennium Stadium in June 2009.
Fast forward almost two years and the more vociferous half of the Gallagher brothers was back in Wales, in front of approximately 60,000 less people than witnessed what was probably the last appearance of Oasis in Wales.
Unsurprisingly, tickets for Beady Eye’s Spring UK tour sold out in hours, and the 2,000-capacity Newport Centre was fit to burst with the mad-for-it crowd ecstatically lapping up each song.
They were treated to a thorough run-through of Beady Eye’s debut album, Different Gear, Still Speeding, delivered with style and panache by Gallagher and his immaculately turned-out gang.
We got the TNT-packed, one-foot-on-the-monitor opener Four-Letter Word, one of several leather-clad wig-outs that give Beady Eye’s set a bruising sonic edge.
However, it’s moments such as deft ’70s rocker Millionaire, blistering rock ‘n’ roll barnstormer Bring The Light, plaintive psych-folk lament Kill For A Dream and the dreamy headspace of The Beat Goes On that got the adrenaline pumping.
Okay, so there were no Oasis songs, but then what did you expect? There is evidently no wish here to re-enact the last lumpen days of their reign.
As the crashing final chords of Sons Of The Stage – an electrifying cover by early ’90s Manc should-have-beens World Of Twist – brings the set to an incendiary close, the Newport crowd is left to reflect on one question – Oasis? Who are Oasis
Noel Gallagher to feature in movie Later this year
The world premiere of Kevin Sampson’s new film Powder will take place in Liverpool as part of the Sound City festival.
The film, written by Liverpool author Kevin, was shot in Merseyside – at Alma de Cuba, Korova and Knowsley Hall – and at music festivals in Ibiza and the UK.
It stars Liam Boyle, who also appeared in Sampson’s first film Awaydays and Keith Allen’s son Alfie Allen.
Liam said: “We’re really looking forward to having the premiere in Liverpool. After filming so much of it here it made sense to have it here.
“I haven’t seen the final film yet – the first edit was more than three hours long, then I saw the two and a half hour cut, but the final film is just 100 minutes. I can’t wait to see it.”
The film centres around the music industry – and in particular the fictional band The Grams.
It was filmed at the V Festival, alongside some of the biggest names in the music industry.
The Grams – and their fictional rivals – were allowed to play on stage in between the main acts, with the crew planting their own flags and T-shirts among the crowds.
The security team even let the Powder cameras in their helicopter to get impressive overhead shots of the band playing. Real-life musicians were keen to help out too. The film features cameos from the Ting Tings, Lily Allen, The Script, The Wombats, Noel Gallagher, Johnny Marr and Brandon Flowers.
Powder will be screening for one night only at FACT, Seel Street, on Thursday May 19 before the film goes on general release in the autumn.
Places are limited, with a first-come first served free allocation for Liverpool Sound City delegate pass holders and a small number of tickets on sale to the general public, available from the FACT website, www.fact.co.uk.
For more info on Liverpool Sound City, including schedules, line-ups, speakers and how to buy tickets or delegate passes, go to www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk
Liam Gallagher: There Will Be An Awsome Second Album Coming Soon
Liam Gallagher has promised that Beady Eye won't be hanging around when it comes to releasing their second album.
The singer told the Irish Times that they wouldn't let promotion for their recent debut 'Different Gear, Still Speeding' run into 2012 and instead would get to work on its follow-up.
Comparing life in Beady Eye to his old Oasis reigime he said: "We're not going to put the ball down, sit around in a big house and go 'We're great'. We won't be booking into the studio for months and months on end."
He added: "We're not going to be rolling over this album into the next year. There will be an awesome second album coming soon. We're responsible for our every move. We're on our own label. We do all our own artwork and videos. It's not like, 'Oh, send that off to the visual arts person
Beady Eye are pleased to announce they will play two gigs in Russia this June. The band will mark their first visit to the country by playing St Petersburg's GlavClub and Moscow's Milk venue.
Tickets are on sale now. The full details of the tour are below:
2nd June - Saint Petersburg: GlavClub :: Click HERE for tickets.
4th June - Moscow: Milk :: Click HERE for tickets.
Oasis star Noel Gallagher pays tribute to LS Lowry in a new documentary on the famous Manchester artist to be aired on Sunday.
The Burnage-born rocker explains how Lowry’s life appears to have chimed with his own, saying: “It’s like when did you first hear the Beatles? Lowry has always been there ...I guess all the people Lowry ever met are there in his paintings.”
Noel and brother Liam made their own tribute to Lowry with the promotional video to song The Masterplan in 2006, before Oasis’s messy split. In the video, the band transformed into matchstick men.
The Lowry documentary is presented by movie star Sir Ian McKellen, another self-professed fan of the artist.
Sir Ian shot much of the production at The Lowry Arts Centre, where staff were delighted to welcome the crew.
Spokesman Michael Simpson said, “It was a joy to spend time with Ian whose commitment to LS Lowry was very impressive.
“His theatrical perspective genuinely brought new insights to Lowry’s work, which was a revelation both to the curators and film makers.”
McKellen travels through today’s Salford and Manchester, bringing Lowry’s character vividly to life. He says: “If you want any proof that Lowry was a great painter you only have to look at his crowds. It’s hard to be in a crowd without saying ‘We are all in a Lowry painting!”
Meanwhile Lowry’s heiress Carol Ann Lowry appears for the first time on film, vividly describing her unique 19-year friendship with ‘Uncle Laurie’.
When Lowry died, he left everything to her in his will; the film uniquely features her own personal archive which was found in Lowry’s house.
Looking For Lowry is on Easter Sunday at 10.15pm on ITV1.
The Daily Record Slags Off Beady Eye's Edinburgh Appearance
REVIEW: Beady Eye live at the Corn Exchange, Edinburgh
BRITAIN’S biggest pub-rock band, Beady Eye, made their debut in the Scottish capital last night with a nervy, lacklustre show at the Corn Exchange.
Led by Liam Gallagher and ex-members of Oasis, the six-piece appeared to be going through the motions, saying little and tearing through the set as quickly as possible.
Gallagher seemed less than confident, reduced to telling a sound engineer what to do and berating one “fan” who hurled an object at him.
Not one of the songs from their debut album Different Gear Still Speeding could be called a crowd-pleaser.
And with a decidedly heavy-rock approach, at times it felt as if you were watching Guns ‘n’ Roses.
The band played for barely an hour, then that was it – and everyone supped up the last of their beer before casting their own beady eyes towards the exits.
Miles Kane: Beady Eye Members Remain Close to Noel Gallagher
Miles Kane has spoken about working with both Noel and Liam Gallagher recently.
Falling out just one time too many, Noel and Liam Gallagher have not spoken since that fateful day in France. However the animosity between the two has not affected several people from cross no man's land.
The new members of Beady Eye apparently remain close to Noel Gallagher, while Miles Kane has worked with both brothers. Gallagher Snr popped into the studio to lay down backing vocals on his new album, while the Liverpool singer has just completed a stint on tour with Beady Eye.
Speaking to Absolute Radio, Miles Kane down-played Noel Gallagher's contribution to his new material. "Again that’s a thing the press blow out of the water, but I was mixing my record and he came down one afternoon to hang out, and I was going to put these harmonies on and he ended up doing it" he explained.
"I just met him a couple of times really and it was just one of them things where I was mixing, he was about and came in to say hello and had a Kit Kat and a coffee and sang a bit of BVs, you know."
Meanwhile, Miles Kane also enjoyed his time with Beady Eye. "It was great, you know, we had the time of our lives there. You know, it was an honour to get asked and we had a great time and the gigs were good."
However despite working with both sides of the Gallagher divide, Miles Kane retains a special affection for Welsh singer Gruff Rhys. "Before making this record we was on a bit of a come-down and he sort of gave me a boost real early on when I went in to do my first recording session on my own. It was just me, him, and Craig Silvey, and this drummer that he got in, and we recorded a song called King Crawler and Take the Night From Me that are on the record, and that was the first thing I did. You know, when you’re listening back to it you thought ‘Well this just sounds amazing’, so I always thank him for that”.
“When I was whatever, 14, 15. I think Super Furry Animals was one of the first gigs me and my mate bought a ticket for and you waited ages to go, you know, you went and then it’s the first time you scored the mosh pit or whatever. You know, even bought a t-shirt, and when I got home my mother said I was never the same since really, and it did change my life, man.”
The interview with Miles Kane will be broadcast on Absolute Radio on May 9th.
This is a top gaff," beams Liam Gallagher. "Never been here before. Look after it."
Once upon a time, you'd almost expect the former Oasis singer to be ripping the seats out of a venue rather than singing its praises.
It's back to basics for Beady Eye, starting in the mid-division rather than strutting their stuff in Whelan's. Amazingly, the crowd sings along to every song and there isn't a single audible request for Oasis.
Opening with 'Four Letter Word' and its mantra of "Nothing lasts forever", Gallagher is still leaning into his microphone and belting out the new songs with a voice that's astutely been compared to resting somewhere between Lennon and Lydon.
It doesn't all work. 'Millionaire' is a pointless dirge that would have best been left on the studio floor, but overall, Beady Eye peddle a neat line in catchy and energetic pop rock in the tradition of the Small Faces. It's derivative and won't appeal to any constituency outside hardcore Oasis and Liam fans, but it's undoubtedly effective.
The extended Gallagher family, bar Noel, are all in attendance. Liam's wife, Nicole Appleton, is also visibly enjoying her hubby's show from the guest boxes.
There are a few belters in the set, notably 'For Anyone', 'The Roller' and 'Standing on the Edge of Noise'. Admittedly, there isn't anything to match Oasis in their heyday, despite Liam's claim that 'Different Gear, Still Speeding' is better than 'Definitely Maybe'. It's certainly better than 'Standing on the Shoulder of Giants' or 'Be Here Now'.
They encore with a cover of 'Sons of the Stage' by Mancunian baggy band World of Twist, which I bought as a cassette single. Against all the odds, Liam's post-Noel career has got off to a respectable start.
He's still a great frontman, at one stage turning his back to the audience. This would be rude coming from most performers, but in the inimitable shape and swagger of a certain Liam Gallagher, it's mesmerising.
Chris caught up with Liam and Gem from Beady Eye ahead of their benefit gig for Japan at the Brixton Academy.
As well as talking about that, the band spoke about their album, tour and loads of other stuff.
If you missed the interview, you can listen to it right here:
Liam Gallagher: I Don't Want To Grow Up Like A Dick
EVER wonder what Liam Gallagher does when he's not swaggering around like the living, breathing embodiment of the mad-for-it rock 'n' roll star?
His legions of parka-wearing acolytes might want to believe otherwise, but the singer no longer spends his days snarling at photographers, trashing hotel rooms and sticking pins in a Noel doll (well, maybe sometimes).
Now his life is about spirituality, jogging and playing golf.
"In me pram I was a rock star, but I'm older now," says the 39-year-old. "I don't wanna grow up like a d**k."
The former Oasis frontman, who brings new band Beady Eye to the Corn Exchange on Monday night, admits he was keen to clean up his act because he will turn 40 next year.
"I'm a spiritual kinda guy," he says. "I'm not wearing a sheet and walking down the street banging a tambourine. And I'm not turning into f****** Bono. It's private. But I'm connected, man... to something."
After a pause, he adds, "I don't want to sound like a hippy but it's great. I run. World to myself. Birds. Trees. No hassle from eejits. With golf, I love making proper contact with that ball. I'm still on the fish. Sardines or salmon. Salad. I feel good. It's only the ciggies that stand in me way."
Beady Eye formed from the ashes of Oasis - who split after Gallagher fell out with brother Noel backstage at the Rock en Seine music festival near Paris in 2009 - and sees the singer joined by ex-Oasis men Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock.
And while expectations weren't too high for the new outfit - after all, Noel was Oasis' chief songwriter, and the rest of the band hadn't penned more than a handful of songs between them during their time in the band - debut album Different Gear, Still Speeding stormed the charts at No3, while their first sell-out UK tour brought to mind the wild, party-spirited Oasis gigs of the mid-90s.
"People didn't think we could walk or talk without Noel," says Gallagher, unable to resist a swipe at the naysayers. "We knew what we were doing though.
"Gem's been playing guitar since he was nine," he continues. "I've been doing this 18, 19 years, so I know what I'm doing in my department. Andy too, Chris, everyone - we know how to make a record.
"The only doubt would be whether it would connect with people and whether they wanted it," he adds.
As they prepare to make their Capital debut on a second sell-out tour, Beady Eye are ready to take things up several notches.
"The best thing is - and I'm not making excuses here - most of us were all flued up on that tour," says Gallagher, "so it was great reading these amazing live reviews knowing that we were only at 50 per cent.
"There are people who didn't think we had it in us, and I genuinely feel bad for them," he adds.
The singer is grateful there have been no hecklers at the gigs, ready to declare their undying allegiance to brother Noel.
"There's been none of that - no chanting for him or the old songs, so that was good."
Asked if he enjoyed recording Different Gear, Still Speeding, Gallagher says that he did, before having a dig at his brother's controlling ways when making Oasis albums.
"I'd just be sitting around for weeks while they all jammed, then he'd disappear and I'd be left to sing in a booth with a producer I'd known for two weeks."
Mention how his voice sounded a lot better on the first Beady Eye tour than it had at past Oasis gigs like Murrayfield a couple of years back, and he goes on a bit of a rant.
"I'll tell you why that is... I've been using in-ear monitors for the last 10 years," he begins, referring to the tiny headphones he wore on stage while performing with Oasis.
"It's like being on Mr and Mrs. I'd spend all day with the band and then when the show came I'd have to go off and put these things in my ears.
"It was a bit like him saying 'You eff off over there while I turn my guitars up'. Our kid had his guitars so loud it's rude, you know, like 'I'm-not-even-in-this-band' levels, and the amps were pointing at me, so I'd have to wear in-ears to be able to sing, or shout over that.
"So, I've stopped using the in-ears and what I'm hearing on stage is what everyone else is hearing."
Mellower than he used to be but still no shrinking violet, Gallagher reckons Beady Eye can become the biggest band on the planet.
"F*** being as big as Oasis," he says. "I want to be bigger than The Beatles, man."
Mostly he formed Beady Eye for the love of making music but, like anyone, he still has bills to pay.
"People think when you've got money it just stays in a big pile forever, but you spend it, don't you?" he says. "You've got to work and keep busy or you'll go mad.
"And I'm not doing this because of money, it's because I love it, and I don't have a choice. I didn't think 'I'd like to join a band' and then join one - it happened to me.
"Not getting all cosmic," he adds, "but there's something bigger up there telling us all to get out and do something. People want to hear us play music. We're part of a much bigger picture."
Review: Beady Eye at Liverpool Uni Guild of Students
WHEN Noel Gallagher left Oasis, fans eagerly waited to see what would appear from the void left by the break-up.
What emerged was simply Oasis minus Noel. Guitarist Gem Archer, bassist Andy Bell, drummer Chris Sharrock and frontman Liam Gallagher became Beady Eye.
Their album Different Gear, Still Speeding charted at number three and they made their live debut in Glasgow in March.
Last night's gig at Liverpool Uni Guild of Students may have been a sell-out, but was a far cry from the boys' arena appeal as Oasis.
Dressed in his trademark white trainers and buttoned-up- to-the-collar jacket, Liam was his ever-cocky self, strolling around the stage, nodding to the beat and chewing gum.
Tracks including opening number Four Letter Word, the aptly named Beatles and Stones, For Anyone and Kill For a Dream were greeted with a decent amount of applause.
Obvious favourites were The Roller and The Beat Goes On.
Liam kept chatter to a minimum between songs muttering something about a ladyboy and something else about John Lennon and £10,000.
He did introduce his encore track of Wigwam, about winning and losing, with the words "because of that beating you gave us last night" after Liverpool claimed victory over his team, Manchester City.
At previous Oasis, and now Beady Eye, gigs, it feels as if Liam Gallagher is not there to "entertain" his audience but rather to grace them with his music, and very kindly let them adore him.
Standing at the front on the stage with his chest puffed out, hands behind his back and chin cocked up in the air, he oozes confidence.
In the track The Beat Goes On, he claims: "Some day all the world will sing my song . . . Somewhere in my heart, the beat goes on".
However, other lyrics are less sure of themselves.
In The Morning Son, he sings "You'll never know unless you try, you're blinded by what you idolise . . . He's in my soul, He's even in my rock and roll" presumably referring to absent brother Noel.
Beady Eye is Liam Gallagher attempting to prove he's more than just Oasis, and even though the crowd chants his name and pays nearly £30 a ticket, that's still to be proved.
"Liam, Liam, Liam," bellow the sold-out Rock City masses, hours before the last Gallagher standing even steps a foot on stage.
The man that once promised a generation that they'd live forever now returns to the fray under a new guise, but can the mouthiest Manc in rock and self-proclaimed John Lennon spirit guide live up to his own hype?
As the words 'Beady Eye' beam on to the back of the stage, Liam Gallagher leers over his adoring audience with his unmistakable menacing cockiness.
Brimming with that magnetic presence that only a true icon can pull off, he inspires a fanatic reaction from every corner of the room with a simple slow turn of his head.
"Sleepwalk away your life if it turns you on," growls Gallagher on opener Four Letter Word. Indeed, nothing would have been easier than for the remaining Oasis members to kick into auto-pilot following Noel's departure – and that's not a million miles from the truth.
At times, their set wanders into a bit of Brit-pop pastiche, but I daresay that's entirely the idea – this is everyman classic rock n' roll to touch that primal raw nerve that lies deep in the belly of your soul.
Charged with bravado but stripped of stadium anthemics, the same man who once told the world that he was going to live forever now stands before us biting back with a chorus of "nothing ever lasts forever."
"I'm gunna stand the test of time, like Beatles and Stones," he drones. Although he's already down in the history books, Gallagher will need to pull out something better than a few John Lennon clichés to re-enter them with Beady Eye.
The trick is to not overthink it. They're clearly a band designed for punters to just switch off and rock out to, and where's the harm in that? Bring The Light is little more than some pub-rock clichés strung together by an infectious Chuck Berry groove, but when played live it's charged with phat pounding bass and a thunderous old-school rock n' roll charm which sends the dads and lads wild, while the pedestrian plod-along The Roller is received as a near-biblical classic as if the crowd have never even heard John Lennon's Instant Karma.
With his trademark swagger and stone-faced persona, Gallagher patrols the Rock City stage less like he's performing and more like he's squaring up to everyone in the room, and they lap it up as the horizon becomes a haze of pumping fists and flailing crowdsurfers' limbs.
The set gets off to a dazzling start, but about a quarter of the way in it loses a momentum that it doesn't really regain until the encore – but Gallagher's disciples barely seem to notice or care.
In fact, the only negative response of the night is saved for him dedicating the monotonous and turgid Brit-pop karaoke dud Kill For A Dream to Man City – not wise in a room of Forest fans.
Tonight, fun as it may be, Gallagher's own legend precedes him, but the music sadly lags far behind.
It's just a bit of harmless fun though – they've not reinvented the wheel but they're still speeding. What is it they say? 'Let it be.'
Entertainment blogger KAT bumps into Noel Gallagher on an LA sidewalk. Props for getting him to talk to the camera. Don't know about the question selection though...
Noel Gallagher Endorses Music Hall of Fame in Manchester
Smiths, Oasis, New Order and Happy Mondays are expected to feature.
Noel Gallagher and New Order's Peter Hook are among the musicians giving their support to a new hall of fame-style venue celebrating Manchester's musical history.
The hall is being set up by London-based firm 3DTwin. It will feature memorabilia from Manchester's music scene and will honour the city's most famous artists, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The Smiths, The Bee Gees, Oasis, New Order, Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses and Take That are all expected to feature.
Speaking in support of it, Gallagher said: "Manchester has always punched above its weight musically and it's high time this was celebrated in a way that will act as an inspiration to the next generation of artists."
3DTwin founder Richard Abbot added that the building, which he hopes will be around the size of a football pitch, will include a live venue, restaurant, screenings room and mega-store. The company is currently vetting suitable venues in the city.
'The song "Millionaire" was written in 2007. I wrote it after a trip to Spain. It was springtime, it was still snowing in Sweden, and I happened to be talking to my mate Iain, who I know from years back in Oxford. He'd moved out to Barcelona a few years before, and he just said get yourself over here for a week. Got to Barcelona, sure enough the sun was beating down, it was great, and after a few days there we ended up going on this road trip up to Cadaqués for the weekend. Cadaqués is this nice little fishing village and to be honest I didn't get why I was being taken there, then when we went to this bar and it was full of pictures of Salvador Dali hanging out with the Rolling Stones and I started to realise there was something a bit special about the place.
'So the next day we decide to drive from the coast to Figueres, which is where the Dali museum is, it's like the main town round there. We left Cadaqués, stopped off at the Lighthouse at Port Ligat first for breakfast and a look at Dali's house. It was an amazing day, blue sky, got in the car, put on the Pink Floyd album 'Meddle'. This is the favourite Floyd album of most people I know from Oxford. I don't know why, it just is. Most northerners I know prefer 'The Wall' but 'Meddle' is ours which kind of fits as it is quite light and easy going, much like most of us Oxford heads. So the first tune is 'One Of These Days', it's blasting, we are driving fast through all these cliff roads, with the waves crashing around, the tune has all these guitar sounds that sound like a car revving up, it seemed to fit. We left the album playing, didn't say much, and as the car pulled up outside the Dali museum in Figueres the last notes of 'Echoes', the last song on the album were playing.
'The mixtape I made is based around 'Meddle', but I managed to weave in some other music which fits the mood. Most of that was music that we were playing during the video shoot. Gem brought a load of CDs of stuff like The Doors, Dungen, Jimi Hendrix for the drive. It was cool showing the rest of the band the scenery that is the backdrop of the song. The really weird thing about the video is that we were on a day off between two gigs, in Milan and Madrid, and if you put your finger on a map inbetween those two places, you are in Cadaqués. So it felt fated that we would film the video there. Like most things about Beady Eye, it just fell into place.'
Liam: 'I've got the greatest rock 'n' roll movie playing in me head. All the Time.'
The rock star Liam Gallagher tells the National why he's 'just a regular fella'
I'm not going to get all sentimental," says Liam Gallagher. "I've got too much still to do. You get your hanky out if you want to. Not me. I'm a busy man."
Liam Gallagher - still sporting the round bowl haircut that his estranged brother, Noel, memorably dubbed "the Ann Widdecombe" - is sitting in the boardroom of his management company in Marylebone, central London. We are looking at the framed photographs, which have lately been removed from the walls, of Noel and him in their Oasis heyday. Boxes of merchandise promoting his new band, Beady Eye, have arrived to be unpacked. It feels odd, spooky even. Like the sad day after a rancorous divorce when one member of the embittered couple moves out and the other tries to move on.
"It don't feel strange at all," he insists. "It's people like you that need to get over it. Don't need pictures and gold discs and what have you. It's all in here." He taps his head. "I've got the greatest rock 'n' roll movie playing in me 'ead. All the time."
When a partnership as seminal as that of the Gallagher brothers splits, you might expect the one who brought the looks, charisma and singing but little meaningful songwriting to the equation to approach a new band with some trepidation. But Liam Gallagher is positively beaming today. Here is a man at last in full control of his destiny. He is dressed in items from his own Pretty Green clothing company. He has come hot foot from tour rehearsals at a studio down the road.
In fact, Beady Eye is Oasis minus his brother and the fulfilment of an old dream. Oasis played their first show 20 years ago this year. It was famously Liam Gallagher's band until his elder brother stepped in. Once Noel assumed songwriting duties he propelled them to a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful UK band of the 1995-2005 decade after selling over 70 million albums.
Now, though, after two decades of often pantomime sibling rivalry culminating in a catastrophic falling-out in Paris in 2009, Liam Gallagher has got his band back.
"People go on about there being a power struggle but I don't really see it that way," he says. "We didn't get on. We never have. And in the end it became unbearable. And whatever was written about me being the c*** I know what happened and what it was like.
"People can believe what they want to believe about me but you know what? I'm all right. I'm OK to be around and I do my job. The band (Andy Bell, Gem Archer and drummer Chris Sharrock) followed me out the door, remember. Not the little fella. That tells you all you need to know."
In August 2009 Oasis were still one of the biggest live acts in the world when their tour reached Paris's Rock en Seine festival. Backstage before the show, there was a row - hardly a new occurrence; Liam is known to have attacked his brother with a tambourine as far back as 1993 - but Noel issued a statement claiming "verbal and violent intimidation" from his brother towards himself and his family had reached intolerable levels. He didn't sound like a rock star. He sounded like a man reporting a serious domestic violence incident. Liam scoffs at the suggestion that he was the cause of the split. As he tells it, in fits and starts:
"It all kicks off backstage just before the gig in Paris... Our kid f***s off. We others went back to the hotel and had a couple of beers. No tears, mind. We kind of seen that coming. I ask them... 'What do you want to do? Stay a band?' Agreed... We'll meet in a couple of months and book a little studio and do some tunes. That was August. We were meant to meet in November but... We couldn't wait that long. That says a lot, doesn't it? We met the following week... That's it... We started a new band and it was all nice and easy and it happened like that because there was no aggro and there was no f***ing tantrums and there was no boss throwing his f***ing weight around."
He paints a rosy picture of the working practices of Beady Eye. He could almost be an idealistic youngster celebrating the fall of a dictator. There is no leader as such, he says. They all pitch in ideas and it becomes obvious when they are not heading in a productive direction. But one thing they agreed on is the fact that the 1960s, when The Beatles and the Rolling Stones and The Who held sway in UK rock culture, were the greatest days there have ever been. It is the spirit of these times that underpins everything Beady Eye does, whether it be the haircuts, the moody photo shoots in leather jackets or indeed the music; that spirit was the underpinning of a lot of Oasis music, too.
"Just 'cause it's a new band don't mean we've changed our tastes in music," says Gallagher. "We know what's great."
It's hard to overstate how important the preservation of the Beatles/Sixties sensibility is to Gallagher. One of the formative moments in his songwriting career came after he was invited to visit Yoko Ono's apartment in New York's Dakota apartment building a few years ago. The visit was arranged by a manager, and Ono greeted him at the door.
"It were dead spooky the feeling I got in that place," he says. "She was top. She made the tea. But I was a bit weirded out by being in there. In a good way though. I felt his [John Lennon's] presence. And afterwards I was writing loads of tunes. It was inspiring. They just came out of me 'cause of being in that apartment."
The new album, Different Gear, Still Speeding, features a track called Beatles & Stones, which pretty much formalises a manifesto that has riled critics but delighted fans for years: the Sixties were the greatest music decade ever, and there's no point trying to improve on it.
"We're not doing anything new," says Gallagher. "We are the first to admit that. I haven't got time to be experimenting. I just want to f***ing rock 'n' roll. We do the Beatles-y, Stones-y, Kinks-y sound better than anyone and I'm not pretending it's anything that it isn't. We are still a band that are going to get a lot of kids off their arses. I'm proud of that."
He shifts in his seat and rubs his knuckles. This is familiar territory. Oasis has been one of the most bankable British band for 20 years and yet save for the flowering of Britpop they have been critical kicking boys for much of that time, too. "Music for van drivers", "pub rock" - the plaudits saved for peers such as Radiohead and Damon Albarn's Blur have rarely come their way.
"I don't want to break new ground," Gallagher snarls. "I don't. I've heard what goes on on the new ground and it sounds like **** to me. F***ing Radiohead. I mean I really truly don't get it. A band goes out of its way to make things hard for the f***ing listener and the critics are stroking their chins and loving it. But... I've grown up. I'm not getting into knocking anyone. To me music is all about the feeling it gives you. You can't beat where The Beatles took us and I like to think that we can bring some of that back to the kids today. End of."
Gallagher says he is getting to do things he did not have a chance to do when his brother was in charge. For one, they can make decent videos (he says his brother didn't care enough about them). Secondly, they can take charge of photo shoots. And finally, he says he is not being forced to scream his vocals over the dense sound his brother preferred. Beady Eye is a softer proposition. More light and shade. Lyrics that you can understand (these are in part the contribution of Bell and Archer.) In short, he has been released from the tyranny of "the little fella".
"People have said that they can hear me singing properly for the first time since... right back at the start of Oasis," says Gallagher. "With Oasis I'd be shouting and screaming to be heard over the top. With this album Andy and Gem encouraged me to sing first over acoustic guitar and drums, and a lot of them were keepers. I got in there first and it gave me a bit more room to breathe and so yeah... I hope it shines through. I'm working with people now as opposed to being wheeled on to sing over something. There's more of me in it."
Gallagher feels he has been a rock star for 20 years now. You would have expected him to have been a casualty given his past appetite for drink and drugs. When several of his teeth were knocked out in a Munich bar fight 10 years ago it seemed par for the course. And yet here he is, nearing 40 and the picture of contentment.
"I am a rock star. Born a rock star," he says. "But that don't mean I act like a ****. I don't do premieres or hang out with young bands trying to be the big man. That's pathetic."
Each morning he wakes up at 5:59. He likes to beat the alarm, which is set for 6am. He dons his running gear and canters onto Hampstead Heath near where he lives with his wife, the Canadian pop singer and actress Nicole Appleton, and their nine-year-old son, Gene. Gallagher will then run for around 90 minutes. No headphones, no music. When he gets home he might make breakfast and then he takes Gene to school. He gives a detailed and convincing description of the little plastic school chairs he has to cram into on parents' evening to review his children's work.
"I do it all. I'm just a regular fella... who happens to be a rock star," he says.
As well as his clothing line and his new band he is about to launch a career as a film producer. It doesn't come as any great surprise to discover it is a Beatles-related project. His production company has begun work on the adaptation of The Longest Cocktail Party: An Insider's Diary of The Beatles, Their Million-Dollar Apple Empire and Its Wild Rise & Fall written by the Apple records insider Richard DiLello in 1972.
Perhaps change the rather quaint reference to a mere million dollars and there are irresistible echoes in that title. Will Oasis ever re-form?
"What for? What would be the point? Me and our kids ain't going to change," Gallagher says. "I'll miss them songs but they are in me 'ead. They are in my life deeply already. In my DNA. But Beady Eye can't start banging out f***ing Live Forever, can they? It would be like Simon Cowell going on holiday with all his ex-wives. It's f***ing wrong, man. Leave it alone. It's not right."
The Gallagher file
BORN William John Paul Gallagher, September 21, 1972, Burnage, England
CHILDHOOD NICKNAME Breshnev, after the late Soviet leader who was known for his bushy eyebrows
SCHOOLING St Bernard's Roman Catholic Primary School, Burnage; Barlow Roman Catholic High School, Didsbury
BAD BOY Expelled from school at the age of 15 for fighting, and would often steal bicycles from local shops
FAMILY Wife, Nicole Appleton; sons, Lennon Francis (with ex-wife Patsy Kensit) and Gene Appleton; daughter, Molly (with the musician Lisa Moorish)
LIFE-THREATENING EXPERIENCE Nearly drowned in a river when he was a child
PETS Two stray cats he adopted named Benson and Hedges (after his favourite brand of cigarettes) and five dogs
FAVOURITE SONGS Hound Dog by Elvis Presley, We Love You by the Rolling Stones, Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan, Strange Town by The Jam, I Am the Walrus by The Beatles, Hand in Glove by The Smiths, Waterloo Sunset by the Kinks and Looking Glass by The La's
FAVOURITE FILMS Quadrophenia, Trainspotting, Seven and Scarface
The more cynical Quietus reader would probably expect the members of Beady Eye – essentially Oasis without the scowling eyebrows and dictatorial plankspanking of Noel Gallagher – and frontman Liam Gallagher in particular to simply list all 13 of The Beatles’ for their Bakers Dozen choices, but not so. Indeed, while their list errs towards the tail of the 1960s, punk and the dawn of Britpop, the absence of any albums by the Fab Four in their group incarnation is telling, as is the presence of the single Beatles member who does make the final cut.
Running through the list with The Quietus, Gallagher and guitarist Andy Bell are at pains to point out that the compiled list is a group effort and not the choices of a single member. “Beady Eye is a democracy and we all bring in ideas and we all bring in songs and of course we have complete freedom,” explains Bell. “That’s the thing that has to be mentioned in comparison to Oasis. That doesn’t mean that we didn’t have freedom in Oasis because we did. The dynamic in Beady Eye is really healthy.”
There is no shortage of celebrity wedding action this summer.
If you were thinking Prince William's nuptials were shaping up to be the booziest, Lily Allen's the most debauched or Ed Miliband's the "must-have" invite - you'd be wrong.
Former Oasis star Noel Gallagher and fiancée Sara MacDonald are tying the knot in the most rock 'n' roll ceremony of 2011.
The couple - who have two young sons together, Donavan and Sonny - have been an item since they bumped into each other in Space nightclub during a wild summer in Ibiza back in 2000.
It has taken a bit of time but loaded Noel finally saved up enough of his hard-earned cash to buy a sufficiently huge diamond ring to rope his Scottish "missus" into marriage. A source said: "Noel secretly asked Sara to marry him on her birthday last October. He's not one for making a big scene. This is the man who kept his leather jacket on when his lad Donovan was born.
"They have been living like they are married for years anyway, but now they have a family together Noel thought it was the right time to do the romantic thing.
"He splashed out on a mega posh Solange Azagury-Partridge ring from a Bond Street jewellers. They are madly in love and spend all their time together without any bickering. They are a perfect match."
These two are not shy about having a good night out on the tiles. Without any Oasis gigs or major football championships this summer, I suspect they probably felt obliged to organise some entertainment of their own.
Sara has been busy organising the finer details of her big day - including the ultimate guest-list headache. Famous pals Russell Brand and Katy Perry will fly in for the day.
They can look forward to rubbing shoulders with Noel's Manchester City supporting pals including Scully, the gentleman rogue from Wythenshawe.
Noel is just about to finish mastering his debut solo album in Los Angeles.
I hear he bumped into Mark Wahlberg in Toys R Us in Hollywood the other day.
That's something that doesn't happen very often when he's getting the milk in Waitrose in north London.
LIVERPOOL-BASED smart phone application developer Apposing has launched its app for the clothing label owed by former Oasis star Liam Gallagher.
LDP Creative reported last year how the firm had signed the deal with Gallagher’s Pretty Green label to develop the app.
The now Beady Eye star began working with the Apposing team to as a key way of marketing the rapidly-growing business.
The app allows customers to view all the latest collections, buy products online, view nearest stockists and get directions using the GPS system.
Users also have the chance to read all the latest Pretty Green news, watch exclusive videos and play a Pretty Green game with the chance to win a discount code for use in the store.
Dave Brown, creative director of Apposing, told LDP Creative: “We are all huge Oasis and Beady Eye fans here at Apposing, so we jumped at the chance to work with Liam Gallagher and his team to design this app solution.
“Pretty Green has a very definite image and brand that the design concept was built around.
“Our challenge was to use the brand effectively, marrying this with the functional requirements of the app and for those to work together to the best outcome.
“What began as a fairly basic app has developed during the build phase and there are plans to take this to the next stage in the future.” Liam Gallagher’s new range offers two styles of clothing through its Green and Black labels.
The Green label is a casual range including everyday signature pieces.
The Black label offers classic British tailoring.
Pretty Green were recently crowned Menswear Brand of the Year at the Draper’s Awards.
It beat off competition by the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Boss Orange and Paul Smith.
Mr Brown added: “We look forward to taking this supersonic app to the next level, with loads of exciting ideas already under discussion for the next phase.”
LDP Creative reported in January that Apposing had won a contract with the BBC’s audiobook store AudioGo.co.uk
The firm will develop iPhone and Android apps for the site, which was formerly known as BBC Audiobooks.
The app will allow users to search the back catalogue of 10,000 titles, listen to previews and buy products.
Apposing grew rapidly in 2010, also securing deals with Chester Zoo and the Liverpool Echo Arena.
At the time of the BBC deal, Mr Brown said: “The BBC contract win has meant that we have kick-started 2011 with guns blazing.
“We see 2011 as a really exciting year for us, and we are already in talks with a number of national and international brands who are keen to work with us on some really interesting projects.”
Japan Tsunami Benefit Concert at O2 Brixton Academy
Beady Eye, Primal Scream and Paul Weller helped raise over £150,000 at a London benefit show last night (April 3) for victims of the recent tsunami and earthquake in Japan.
The gig at the O2 Brixton Academy, which was orchestrated by Liam Gallagher and the Modfather, also featured sets from Graham Coxon, The Coral and Richard Ashcroft along with a few surprise collaborations and covers by The Beatles.
The Coral were the first to cover the Fab Four as they kicked off the night with their take of 'Ticket To Ride' in between songs from their 2010 album 'Buttefly House'.
Graham Coxon quickly followed as he took the chance to debut new song 'Running For The Light' before wrapping up with 2004 hit single 'Freakin Out'.
Next up was Paul Weller who loaded the early part of his set with The Jam's greatest hits including 'The Eton Rifles' and 'Start!' sandwiched between classic tracks from his 1995 album 'Stanley Road'.
"Thanks for coming tonight and helping our brothers and sisters in Japan," he told the crowd before he introduced Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones for a surprise collaboration of another Beatles classic 'Come Together'.
Jones then played a short acoustic set as did Richard Ashcroft, who got the whole venue singing for The Verve's 'Sonnet' and 'Lucky Man'.
Primal Scream recruited Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock to stand in for Mani at tonight's show which, like their recent tour, leaned heavily towards material from 'Screamadelica'.
The night was rounded off by Beady Eye who played a similar set to that featured on their recent UK tour, performing tracks from their debut album 'Different Gear, Still Speeding'.
Frontman Liam Gallagher, who was dressed in a long green anorak, dedicated 'Kill For A Dream' to "all the people in Japan."
Earlier, he also gave a shout out to The Coral sticksman Ian Skelly before launching into 'Bring The Light'.
"This one's for the drummer out of The Coral," Gallagher said. "Apparently it's his favourite song ever."
Before wrapping up the night with the final Beatles cover 'Across The Universe', he thanked the bands and the crowd for helping to raise funds for the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal.
Beady Eye played:
'Four Letter Word'
'Beatles And Stones'
'Millionaire'
'The Roller'
'Bring The Light'
'Standing On The Edge Of The Noise'
'Kill For A Dream'
'Man Of Misery'
'The Morning Sun'
'Sons Of The Stage'
'Across The Universe'
Beady Eye have announced they are releasing a cover of The Beatles' 'Across The Universe' which they performed live during Sunday Night's Japan Disaster Benefit at the Brixton Academy, London. The concert also featured The Coral, Graham Coxon, Paul Weller, Kelly Jones, Primal Scream and Richard Ashcroft. Beady Eye closed the show with their first ever performance of 'Across The Universe'.
The day before the charity event, during an 8 hour session, Beady Eye went into RAK studios to record and mix their version of the song from The Beatles' 'Let It Be' album. Beady Eye have today made the track available for a limited period to download through their website. All proceeds from the sale of the track after VAT, credit card fees and mcps, (62p) will go directly toward the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal.
Beady Eye Records have three posters commemorating the event, designed by Gem, that will be given to three lucky fans chosen at random who download the track. The posters have been signed by Liam, Gem and Andy.
The Japan Disaster Benefit has so far raised over £150,000 for the British Red Cross Japanese Tsunami Appeal. To read more about the Red Cross' work in Japan and to donate, click HERE! The Japan Disaster Benefit has so far raised over £150,000 for the British Red Cross Japanese Tsunami Appeal. To read more about the Red Cross' work in Japan and to donate, click HERE!
Beady Eye have announced that as a result of the continuing challenges being presented in the aftermath of the Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami they have been forced to reschedule their Far East tour of Japan and South Korea in May.
They will be rescheduling their sold out tour of Japan and their debut gig in Seoul to take place in September. Please keep checking the website for further details.
Tickets for the Seoul gig will be refunded at the point of purchase, for more detail please go to ticket.interpark.com, Tel: 1544-1555.
Beady Eye are extremely excited about embarking on their first tour of Japan and South Korea and are disappointed they have to wait a little longer than expected to do so. They ask their fans to be patient, and promise it will be well worth waiting for.
